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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/28708974">Ill-Advised Warmth</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/LiterallyThePresident/pseuds/LiterallyThePresident'>LiterallyThePresident</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>Connection [13]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Bakugan Battle Brawlers</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Cultural Differences, Darkness and the fun that comes with it, Featuring the intimacy of names, Talk of lifespans culture dreams and more, The relationship ship tag is nebulous at best, They talk a lot, and Shun’s stabby grandpa, could be considered unrequited or requited, either way Volt has a Crush</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2021-01-12</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2021-01-12</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-13 09:47:46</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>General Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>4,692</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/28708974</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/LiterallyThePresident/pseuds/LiterallyThePresident</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Volt and Shun get trapped by a cave in and have plenty of time to talk</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Kazami Shun &amp; Volt Luster, Kazami Shun/Volt Luster</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>Connection [13]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/series/1566988</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>8</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>53</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>Ill-Advised Warmth</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>Volt awoke to what looked like a top-down view of the surface of a strange planet, rough and ridged and strangely symmetrical, what looked like mountains surrounding a pitch black lake. He blinked, his vision hazy from the throbbing pain in the back of his head. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Where...?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“A cave of some kind.” The unexpected reply took him by surprise, and his hearts nearly seized as he realized he wasn’t seeing a planetary surface, but a pair of </span>
  <em>
    <span>eyes.</span>
  </em>
  <span> He reared back, and the eyes pulled back, their owner leaning back to give him some space.</span>
</p><p>“What the-“ Volt rocketed to his feet, glancing wildly around at his surroundings, getting his bearings. The cave in had struck without warning, Volt having barely enough time to shove Lync and Marucho Marukura to safety before he was knocked out by what must have been a sizable rock. His sweeping eyes took in the situation he was in, trapped in the pitch black with only one other person, one of the Resistance, whose alien eyes were unusually wide as they stared a little to the left of Volt’s head. </p><p>
  <span>“You’re awake.” Shun Kazami murmured, “You took a hell of a blow to the head. How do you feel?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Fine.” he said shortly, keeping his distance. Dan Kuso may be the most powerful of the Resistance brawlers, but Kazami was by far the most cunning, “Just a little headache.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Any nausea?” Kazami asked, his voice low yet calming, like a doctor talking to a patient, “Memory loss? Dizziness? Fatigue?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Are you… checking me for a concussion?” he asked with narrowed eyes, and Kazami’s head shifted as if he were following Volt’s voice, his eyes unusually blank and wide, occasionally squinting in a concerning way. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Concussions are no laughing matter.” he said easily, “You were out for several minutes.”</span>
</p><p>“Well, I’m fine.” he said stiffly, “I’ll be even better when we get out of this cave. Hopefully we’ll be rescued soon.”</p><p>
  <span>“It’s gonna take a while.” Kazami said, “We had half a mountain drop on us. If this cave pocket wasn’t here, we’d be dead.” Boy, he sure knew how to lighten the mood. No wonder Dan Kuso was the leader. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Well, I don’t have a while.” he said bluntly, “I have maybe a day or two before I’m useless.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I know.” Kazami murmured, pointing off to the side, “There’s a draft coming from that direction. We could probably find an exit faster than they can rescue us, and if they learn about the exit they can try to clear it out.”</span>
</p><p>“And why should I believe you?” he asked, painfully aware that no matter how pleasant company Kazami was, they were still on opposite sides. Kazami gave him an unimpressed look, or rather, gave the wall five inches to his left an unimpressed look. </p><p>
  <span>“Brawls are one thing, survival situations are quite another.” Kazami got to his feet, and then immediately stumbled, lurching slightly before stabilizing himself. The action was so uncharacteristic of him that Volt paused, something he refused to acknowledge as fear flitting through him. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Are you hurt?” he asked lowly, and Kazami waved dismissively.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I’m fine, I just can’t see.” he said, and Volt blinked.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Wait, really?” he asked, mind beginning to race with the possibility of blindness, concussion, eye injury, “Why not?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“It’s too dark.” he murmured, and the simple sentence brought Volt’s racing mind to a slow, “Even I need some light to see. I’ll be fine, I’ll just be a bit clumsier than usual.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Too... dark.” he repeated slowly, “You really can’t see in the dark? I... I’ll be honest, I thought Gus was messing with me.” It certainly made the human literature make more sense, Volt hadn’t understood why the characters suddenly went blind when the lights went out until Gus had explained Spectra’s revelation to him. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“It’s all true.” he gave a wry smile, still unable to find Volt’s exact location, sound echoing oddly off the stone walls, “The dark affects us both in different ways. We’ll have plenty of time to talk about it while we walk.” Oh right, escape. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Right.” Volt pushed aside his curiosity for now, “Will you be... okay? If you can’t see?” </span>
</p><p>“Thank you for your concern, but I’ll be okay to walk.” he replied, lifting a hand and grasping around until he found a wall, “I’ll follow the wall.”</p><p>
  <span>“Okay.” he said, still skeptical but knowing Kazami to be a capable man, “Let’s get going then.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The two of them started walking towards the draft, squeezing through a small opening (Kazami easier than Volt) that opened up into a thin tunnel just wide enough for both of them to walk side by side. Kazami kept his hand on the wall as they went, Volt keeping an eye on him and telling himself it was out of self-preservation and not concern. It was quiet, and Volt was trying to think of a way to break the silence when Kazami did it for him. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“It was admirable, what you did.” Kazami’s voice was soft in the dark, “Pushing the others out of the way.” Volt hadn’t realized anyone had seen him do that, and he found himself fighting a wave of embarrassment. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“It was only right.” Volt said stiffly, unsure what to do with genuine praise, “Just instinct.”</span>
</p><p>“You could have easily just saved Volan, but you saved Marucho too.” Kazami said, glancing his way to give him a grateful smile that transformed his whole face into something gentle, “Thank you.” Volt felt his face heat up, suddenly grateful that the human couldn’t see how deeply his genuine gratitude affected him.</p><p>“Don’t mention it.” he managed, wincing at how gruff his own voice sounded, “Seriously, don’t.” Kazami didn’t seem offended, only tilting his head as he carefully navigated the uneven ground. </p><p>“Why so modest?” he asked, “It’s unlike a Vexos to downplay achievements.” </p><p>“It’s no achievement, it was just a reflex, I could easily just let your friend get crushed next time.” he grumbled, and Kazami chuckled as if amused.</p><p>
  <span>“You won’t.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“What makes you so sure?” Volt raised an eyebrow, “It would definitely make my superiors happy, one less enemy to-“ The words died in his throat as Kazami moved quicker than a shadow, one moment standing against the wall and the next inches away from Volt’s face. There was something sharp pressed against his throat, just shy of pricking the skin, and Volt found himself frozen in place, not even daring to swallow. Kazami gave him another smile, far more dangerous, and Volt realized that his talking had allowed Kazami to locate him easily despite the dark. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Well, because I have this kunai.” Kazami said casually, “Which I’m sure you’ll agree is </span>
  <em>
    <span>very</span>
  </em>
  <span> pointy. And I’m going to use it to perform acts of incredible violence on you if you or your weird friends lay a hand on my team.” Unbidden, Volt remembered the siege months ago, the brawl where Kazami had insulted Lync to the point of tears. Amidst the insults and scathing jabs, he had threatened to tear Lync’s throat out with his teeth, and the threat had seemed empty then, but here in the dark with a deadly point at his throat and those eyes gleaming inches from his own, he had to reconsider if he hadn’t been deadly serious. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“T-They’re not my friends.” Volt managed to get out, feeling strangely unmoored by the display of power. If there was one thing vestals and gundalians had in common, it was respect for a good fighter, and this deceptively quiet human had easily taken him by surprise almost effortlessly. Kazami tilted his head, so close that Volt could see the dilation of his pupils, the odd patterns on his irises. So close that he could smell his unique scent of moonlight and some unidentifiable Earth plant.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“That’s a pity.” he replied quietly, finally withdrawing the kunai thing and stepping back, giving him room to breathe, “If you don’t consider your teammates your friends, that’s a real pi-“ He cut off with a gasp as he tripped over a rock he hadn’t seen, instinctively snapping his arm out to grab onto Volt’s bicep, his grip firm and deceptively strong. Volt, still reeling from his previous proximity, went still as the too-warm hand grasped his arm, not remotely big enough to close around it, and Volt was forced to acknowledge how small the human was. He barely came up to his shoulders as it was, but now, this close (without a weapon at his throat) and physically touching, he seemed almost tiny by comparison. He reached out to stabilize him, opening his mouth to ask if he was alright. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You’re tiny.” was what came out instead, and Volt kicked himself as Kazami blinked up at him with slight confusion, a far cry from the deadly predator from a few moments ago. </span>
</p><p>“What?” he asked, and Volt couldn’t help but notice that he hadn’t let go of his arm. </p><p>
  <span>“You’re just... smaller. Up close. I guess from afar you seem larger than life, but this close you’re just... very small.” he stammered, uncharacteristically lost for words, unused to feeling so awkward. Kazami only stared at him, and the look in his eyes was indecipherable. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I think you’re just unreasonably tall.” he said dryly, and Volt was relieved to see a hint of amusement in his expression, “We can’t all be goliaths.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Can’t all be what?”</span>
</p><p>“Nevermind.” he chuckled, “We should keep going. I don’t know how much time has passed but I don’t enjoy the idea of having to haul your unconscious body through these tunnels blind.” Right, they were still in a pitch black tunnel and operating on a time limit. Volt nodded, and the two of them started walking again, Volt barely able to concentrate with the small warm hand still placed innocently on his arm. Kazami clearly found him easier to navigate with than the wall, and Volt found himself keeping an eye out for any errant rocks. </p><p>
  <span>“So...” he fumbled for any conversation topic, wanting to escape his whirling thoughts, “You can’t see at all in the dark?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“No.” he answered, his free hand lifting to wave in front of his unseeing eyes, “Can’t even see this. Can’t even see the arm I’m holding, or my hand centimeters from my face. I know where my hand is, but I can’t see it.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Not even an outline?” he asked, curious despite himself, “An imprint?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Not unless I let myself believe I see it.” he shrugged, and Volt’s confusion at the odd statement must have been evident even to a blind man, because he continued with a soft murmur, “When we’re in the dark, the mind tends to fill in things that aren’t there.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“What do you mean?” Volt asked, wondering if he wasn’t right in his first impressions that all humans were low key insane. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Like...” he tilted his head thoughtfully, “If I hold up my hand in front of my face in complete darkness, I’ll eventually see the outline. Or rather, I </span>
  <em>
    <span>think</span>
  </em>
  <span> I see the outline. My mind knows that my hand is there, but it can’t see it, so it just tells my eyes to see it.” he explained, “Even if there is no visual input possible, I’ll still think it’s visible.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Your mind just... conjures images it thinks should be there?” Volt asked skeptically, the idea not sitting well with him at all. As if sensing his trepidation, Kazami gave a comforting pat on his arm. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yeah. That’s why so many ghost sightings happen in dark places.” he laughed softly, the sound pleasant in the quiet of the tunnel, “You look long enough at the darkness worried you’ll see something, you’re gonna see something. The mind is a powerful thing.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I’ve never heard of a phenomenon like that before.” he said honestly, and Kazami chuckled. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Because you people can see in the dark.” he said, “Our people have different problems.”</span>
</p><p>“Like blindness?” he snorted, and Kazami shrugged.</p><p>
  <span>“Blindness, sleep, a crumbling planetary ecosystem, shitty rulers.” he listed, “Basic problems like that, but at least when we have terrible kings, we’ll sometimes lead a revolt and beat them to death in their homes in front of their family.” Volt didn’t even have time to express his shock at that before Kazami continued, “Kinda amazed no one has done that with your king, if I’m being honest. But hey, King Zenoheld is still relatively young.” Kazami shrugged, and Volt snapped his head around to look at him, surprise painted across his face.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Young?” he asked incredulously, “He’s in his forties!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yeah?” Kazami cocked his head, “And?”</span>
</p><p>“He’s getting up there in years.” he said, having long overcome his fear of speaking ill of the dishonorable king, “The Prince is going to have to take over soon.”</p><p>“Because he’s in his forties?” Kazami asked skeptically, something almost like apprehension flashing through those alien eyes, “How long do vestals live, anyway?”</p><p>
  <span>“Longest vestal who ever lived was sixty.” he told him, “If you could call that living.” Kazami was quiet then, his eyes downcast in what appeared to be deep thought. Volt glanced at him in concern, but waited for him to work through whatever was putting that expression on his face. Minutes passed in complete silence, and Volt was beginning to grow anxious when Kazami finally spoke, his voice heavy and almost upset. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“The longest human who ever lived,” he said quietly, “made it to one hundred and twenty two years old.” Cold shock washed over Volt like a bucket of ice water, bringing him to a halt in the middle of the tunnel. Kazami stopped with him, squeezing his bicep as if to comfort him, or perhaps seeking comfort himself. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Y-You’re joking.” he said weakly, his voice cracking embarrassingly, “A hundred and twenty two, that’s </span>
  <em>
    <span>insane!</span>
  </em>
  <span> Even </span>
  <em>
    <span>neathians</span>
  </em>
  <span> don’t live that long!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“That person was a bit of an outlier, most humans just make it to a hundred or so.” he said like that wasn’t a completely wild statement in itself, “We’re working on extending it, of course, but science can only do so much right now.” Fucking </span>
  <em>
    <span>extending-</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <span>“A fucking century.” Volt whispered, “How the hell does the least technologically advanced race we’ve met have the longest lifespan?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Maybe...” Kazami said quietly, “Maybe it’s because of sleep? Maybe it’s like a weird biological exchange. You have more hours in the day, but fewer days. Or something. I’m not a scientist.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Neither am I.” Volt said faintly, wondering if it was the new knowledge he’d gained or the dark that was making him feel so winded, “One hundred...”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Sixty.” Kazami pinched the bridge of his nose, eyes closing in something like pain, </span>
  <em>
    <span>“Chikushō.”</span>
  </em>
  <span> The word didn’t translate, curses often didn’t, but the meaning was clear, and Volt remembered with a pang that this man was actually close to his teammates, actually cared for them and considered them friends, family even. With this new revelation, he would have to face the possibility of outliving them, of watching them grow old and die before he’d even reached middle age. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I-I’m sorry.” Volt said, unsure of what to say, still reeling at the idea of such a long-lived species that weren’t bakugan, of being old and gray and seeing his enemies still young and vibrant. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Me too.” he replied quietly, and tugged at Volt’s arm to signal him to start walking again, the two of them walking in contemplative silence through the dark, lost in their own thoughts. Kazami’s theory about a biological exchange was likely just that, a theory, but it still made the most sense. Volt had heard about sleep from Gus and the weird spooky human literature he sent him. An entire extra part of the human brain dedicated to parading paper-thin puppets of the people they knew before them as they laid unconscious yet conscious at the same time, storing every single face and image they saw throughout their entire lives specifically to use in these strange little theaters of the mind. It brought to mind the time Kazami had fallen unconscious on him, the way his eyes had fluttered closed and he’d slumped onto him like a puppet with its strings cut. There had been a split second where he’d thought him hurt or worse, and fear had gripped his throat with a strength that surprised him. How ironic that the thing that had scared him so was now the reason he wouldn’t have to watch these strange little creatures be claimed by time. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I thought Zenoheld just looked like that because of the stress of the job.” Kazami’s small voice broke him from his thoughts, “Stress can age anyone fast. But no, he’s... he’s just elderly. Forty something years old and the king of two planets and yet my eighty seven year old grandpa could still kick his ass.” Volt choked at that, eyes going wide as he learned he could still be surprised. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Your grandpa is </span>
  <em>
    <span>eighty seven</span>
  </em>
  <span> and still brawling!?” he demanded, and Kazami graced him with an amused look, visibly shaking off the melancholy of his revelation to talk about his family. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Not brawling.” he said, his voice tinged with a hint of pride, “Fighting. Physically. My grandpa could and would beat the shit out of your king with his bare hands. He comes up to maybe your chest and he’d wipe the floor with you and all your teammates.”</span>
</p><p>“I have a lot of difficulty believing an eighty eight year old man could do all that.” Volt tried, and the gleam in Kazami’s eyes honestly scared him.</p><p>
  <span>“Challenge him, then.” he smirked, actually </span>
  <em>
    <span>smirked,</span>
  </em>
  <span> “I’ll bring him over, fuck around and find out.”</span>
</p><p>“Okay, maybe not-“</p><p>“He’s been dying to kick Spectra’s ass anyway.” he grinned, “Keeps offering to, and I quote, ‘teach that prancing blond peacock the value of humility’. Can’t say I disagree with him.” Volt swallowed at that, suddenly grateful that they’d gotten the calm and quiet grandson rather than his apparently murderous grandfather. </p><p>
  <span>“I will pay you credits to never bring him here.” he said, and Kazami’s laughter was almost enough to make him forget the situation they were in, to pretend like they were just two friends walking and joking around instead of enemies trapped in a dangerous tunnel. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Afraid of death?” he teased, “You, the muscle of the team, scared of a tiny old man?”</span>
</p><p>“Listen, you could have easily killed me with your knife thing back there, you had to have learned that from someone.” he grumbled, and Kazami grinned with a glimmer of pride.</p><p>
  <span>“Yeah.” he said, “He taught me everything I know about ninjutsu. I don’t want to follow his path, but I am grateful to him.” There was a story there, Volt could tell. He opened his mouth to ask about it, but Kazami beat him to it. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Speaking of Spectra.” he said, clearly deflecting, “My friend Alice made a great joke about him and Gus the other day. I can’t remember the details, but she referred to Spectra and Gus as ‘Thanatos and Hypnos over there’, and honestly I think it fits. Somewhat. Spectra is super dangerous and takes most of the recognition, and Gus is usually in his shadow but no less dangerous. If we’re talking metaphors, I guess-“</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Full disclosure, those words mean nothing to me.” Volt hated to be rude, but he enjoyed having context. Kazami had the grace to look embarrassed.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Sorry.” he said, “Thanatos and Hypnos are human gods, Death and Sleep.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Oh!” Volt laughed, “Oh, okay, now it makes sense, I’ve read some stories about that.” Vestals had many stories of Death personified, as did nethians and gundalians. Humans were the only race he knew of who gave major additions to that, often giving Death a sibling known as Sleep who was often gentler and kinder, but no less dangerous. To think of them in comparison to Spectra and Gus was strange, and didn’t entirely fit, but there were at least some similarities that this ‘Alice’s’ metaphor somewhat worked. </span>
</p><p>“You read human stuff too?” Kazami asked curiously, “You and Baron might get along.”</p><p>
  <span>“I mostly just read whatever Gus throws my way.” he blinked as something occurred to him, “Hey, can I ask you a question?”</span>
</p><p>“Go right ahead.”</p><p>“How come you call some people by their last names and some by their first?” he asked, “You call Lync by his last name, but Spectra and Gus by their first. Is it a cultural thing?”</p><p>
  <span>“Yeah.” he answered easily, “Where I’m from it’s polite to refer to people by their surnames, unless you’re close or you know them really well. I’m not super rigid about it, but still. I don’t know Volan or Prove very well, for instance, but I’ve run into Gus and Spectra so often that I’ve just started using their names. Gus sometimes waves at me when we meet, so I like to think the regard is mutual.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Ah.” Volt said, “That makes sense. Am... Am I...?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Would you like me to call you Volt?” he asked with a small smile, and Volt felt himself flush again.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“That would imply closeness, wouldn’t it?” he mumbled, and Kazami chuckled.</span>
</p><p>“We’ve been walking arm in arm for some time now and having pleasant conversation the whole way, I think we could use first names if you like. Call me Shun.”</p><p>
  <span>“Okay.” he swallowed, testing out the name, “Shun.” Kazami</span>
  <em>
    <span>-Shun-</span>
  </em>
  <span>seemed to brighten in a way that made the dark tunnel seem almost sunny. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Volt.” he murmured, and his name on Shun’s lips seemed somehow more lovely, like poetry instead of a simple name. Volt forced himself to glance away, realizing perhaps too late that this warmth and this damning fondness could become a major problem if he allowed it. He should pull away, he should distance himself and say something solemn, and yet... he couldn’t make himself do it. Instead, he changed the subject. Avoidance, thy name is Volt.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“So, dreams.” he cleared his throat, “What are they like? I’ve only read about bad ones from some racist, but Gus says they aren’t always scary. If they were, I’d wonder how you survive.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Oh, they definitely vary. One time I dreamed I was a cloud.” Shun accepted the subject change easily, and Volt blinked at the utter weirdness of that statement. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“The fuck?” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yeah, it was a ton of fun and then suddenly frightening.” Shun said cheerfully, “The best thing to do is to not think too hard about our dreams. They rarely make sense, and they pick stupid ways to process information.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Like making you think you’re a cloud?” he asked as the breezy draft grew stronger, and hope began to rise as he realized they were close to the exit, as well as a pang of unhappiness that his time with Shun would soon come to an end. Shun noticed as well, but he kept talking even as their steps sped up slightly.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Like how just last week I was anxious about my upcoming brawl with you.” he continued like the very idea of this collected paragon of calm actually worrying about a brawl wasn’t completely wild, “And I had a dream that I was trying to battle you while also dodging literal bullets from the other Vexos.”</span>
</p><p>“...What?”</p><p>
  <span>“Yeah, they were trying to shoot me with guns while we brawled and it wasn’t fun.” he said, “And then we were in a desert relaxing and eating live snakes, so that was much more fun. And then at some point Gus and I were hijacking a plane together, very high stress, especially when I had to defuse a bomb or else Gus would be Taken and the blood moon would consume the world before this weird space cat could become president.” Volt raised a hand to his forehead, checking for fever, and Shun laughed brightly at the fearful action. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“So that’s an average dream for you.” he said casually as they finally reached the end of the tunnel, the cold air of the outside filtering in through a small crevice, too small to fit through. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“That sounds completely insane.” Volt said as he started prodding at the crevice, careful not to dislodge Shun, as it was still dark enough that he had to hold onto him. It must have been nighttime, because there was almost no light coming through the opening, but the sounds of digging signified a rescue attempt was underway. Volt felt pride and happiness swell in him at Lync’s whiny voice urging them to work faster, fretting about the dark cave and how Volt was alone with some human who could easily take advantage of the dark to hurt him, challenged by Dan Kuso’s snarl that if Volt had lain a hand on Shun he would make his death so hideous, so horribly grotesque, that descriptions of it would be banned in all but the most primal and savage of societies. Shun snickered as if used to such graphic threats, and Volt swallowed audibly. It was unusually poetic for Dan Kuso, but still just real enough that Volt felt the need to ease their minds. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“We’re here!” he called, and the sounds outside halted for a split second before a clamor erupted, the sounds of Vexos and Resistance alike working together for once to save their companions. Lync called to Volt as they dug, assuring him that they were almost through, and he almost sounded like he was crying. The very idea was surprising to him, but apparently not surprising to Shun, who turned to look at him with a twinkle in his eye. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Not your friends, hm?” Shun asked with a grin as the sounds outside became more audible with each rock removed. The Resistance calling for Shun, the Vexos calling for Volt, Marucho Marukura calling for both of them. Little arguments between individuals that broke off as they focused on digging, devoting themselves to freeing their friends. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Lync is a bad example.” he mumbled, “Your friends are ride or die for you, Lync is just… friendly.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“That arrogant little punk?” he laughed softly, “Friendly?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Friendly once you get past the annoying exterior.” he sighed as the rocks shifted, finally parting to let them see into the outside, their tired and worried teammates peering in to assure themselves that they were okay. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Shun!” Dan Kuso shoved to the front, pushing aside a squawking Lync (who </span>
  <em>
    <span>had</span>
  </em>
  <span> been crying, and Volt felt his insides twist at that), “Are you alright? Did he hurt you? Need me to break his legs?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Break his legs and I’ll break your spine!” Lync snapped, shoving him aside so he could look in with worried blue eyes, “Volt, buddy, you good? Did that weirdo do anything to you, because I may be short but I have sharp teeth and I-“ he blinked, staring at them with some indecipherable look on his face before breaking out into a grin, not even seeming to care when Dan Kuso and Marucho Marukura muscled in beside him.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Volt.” he sang, the sudden mischief in his eyes filling Volt with trepidation, “Is there something you want to tell us?”</span>
</p><p>“What?” he blinked as Dan Kuso gasped, his eyes lighting up as he grinned widely.</p><p>
  <span>“Shun, you </span>
  <em>
    <span>dog.”</span>
  </em>
  <span> he laughed, “Not the Vexos I would have gone for, but to each his own, you Romeo you.” It was then that Volt realized that Shun was still holding onto his arm, and Volt’s was still letting him, even standing close to him. The picture they made was sure to spark some misunderstandings, and he stammered as Shun laughed quietly as he let his hand slide away, Volt’s skin too warm where Shun’s hand had been, prickling with his absence as he flushed deeply. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Okay, I can explain.” Volt tried as their rescuers erupted into laughter, Shun having the gall to join in despite the look of betrayal Volt shot his way. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>If he stared at Shun’s face a little longer than necessary, taken by how nice he looked when not frowning, he would make up any excuse to deny it.</span>
</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Not betaed so apologies, I kinda combined a bunch of fic ideas into one on this, but I enjoyed it. Thanks to alizardjae on tumblr for helping me so much with this series with her incredible biology knowledge and friendship</p></blockquote></div></div>
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